Estee Lauder Lucidity Translucent Loose Powder

I’ll preface this by saying that I am a fan of Estee Lauder. They were one of the first high end brands that I ever purchased from. As such I feel almost guilty about saying that as loose powders go I’m not too crazy about this. That isn’t to say it’s bad by any means but it probably wasn’t the best choice for me. We’ll start with the packaging. It’s a sturdy plastic pot with a good quality powder puff inside (though I personally never use these). The black lid and gold logo look clean and simple though not spectacular on the dressing table. The holes in the sifter are quite small so I find I need to tap it quite enthusiastically in order to get product out though this has the advantage of being slightly less messy than some of the other loose powders I own. For £24.50 you get a whopping 21g. The girl who persuading me to get this (ironically she told me it wouldn’t make me orange but the pressed powder would. More on that later...) told me she’d been using hers daily for a year and it was still over a quarter full and I do believe her. 

So onto the product. Estee Lauder say:

“Special ingredients diffuse light as it hits your skin, creating a "soft-focus" effect that visibly smoothes the surface of skin and softens the appearance of lines. Provides translucent matte finish so that skin never looks dry or tight. Changes the way skin looks in harsh lighting providing a smooth finish while protecting skin against visible signs of premature ageing.”

There is an ever so slight sheen to the product. We aren’t talking disco face, you know how I love my matte finishes and I feel quite comfortable in this, and it does stop short of looking dry or powdery. I don’t have lines or wrinkles so I can’t comment on that. It is soft and finely milled and a little goes a long way. I use this to set my foundation and oiliness sets in on my nose after about 2-3 hours which is normal for me. I thought my nose would calm down in winter. It’s gotten worse just to spite me. 

Here’s the thing. I have shade 01 Light (there are only 3 shades). The word translucent is in the name so you’d expect a one size fits all powder but nope. In the summer this looks fab but in the winter it is just a touch dark/ orange. I *think* it oxidises slightly on me which could be the cause. Either way when I pulled it out again today to write this and tried it on it wasn’t working for me. That said I do blend into the snow at the moment so I can forgive it that little foible. 

Would I buy this again? No simply because if I spend £24.50 on a powder I want to use it all year round. It’s a nice powder though and I  can’t blame it for my pasty skin. 

*I got this free but only because I spent so much in Boots that I was able to buy this with my advantage points... oh the shame...*

A tale of two powders

I’m always on the lookout for a good pressed powder for touch ups throughout the day. At the recommendation some of my lovely readers I decided to pick up the 17 Shine Control Pressed Powder. I happened to have one of the £5 vouchers for No7 so their Crème Touch pressed powder came home with me too. Both 17 and No7 and Boots own brands so I thought I might be fun to do a little comparison. We’ll start off with the basics:

	17 Shine Control	No7 Creme Touch
Price	£3.49	£8.75
Amount	10g	20g
Price per gram	34.9p	47.45p

Hmm. It looks like per gram 17 has the edge here. Don’t forget though that with those vouchers the No7 only costs £3.75. Both come in rather plain black packaging however not all plain packaging is created equal. Yes both have those useless little puffs but only the budget (17) option comes with a mirror. The 17 compact feels a bit sturdier too. For some reason the No7 powder has a twist off lid which doesn’t feel that secure and frankly is a bit of a pain when trying to use it on the go. 

Here is the 17:

And the No7

When you get to the actual product though the situation is reversed. The No7 feels much more finely milled and yet is more densely packed than the 17 powder. It feels somehow better. It blends well and has never once left me looking cakey. The 17 has a tendency to be a bit dusty with powder flying everywhere as soon as a brush gets near it. It feels slightly chunkier too though not to the point of making you look cakey. It’s just not quite as fine as the No7. 

The colour selection for the 17 powder is erm... one. You get Neutral or nothing. It’s quite pale but I find it does sometimes oxidise on me slightly. No7 gives you a slightly better colour range with 4 shades, I have shade 01 Translucent. This shade is VERY pale. Don’t make the mistake of getting Translucent thinking it’ll be a one shade fits all deal. It will probably look ashy on you if you have darker skin. I have not noticed the crème touch oxidising on me. 

In terms of oil control the 17 powder is better. I need to blot slightly less often when I use it. The no7 does an ok job though and certainly leaves a more natural finish. I suppose what I’m trying to say is I’d like the No7 powder in the 17 compact and with 17’s oil control. Too much to ask? As for which I’d repurchase I think the hunt for the perfect pressed powder will probably go on. If I’ve run out and I have another voucher I’d maybe buy the No7 again but the 17 is a bit too messy for me even though it does do a fab job of suppressing the shine. 

*I bought these myself*

Rituals Transparent Loose Face Powder

I’m going through a bit of a loose powder phase at the moment. I used to hate them but somehow the little tub of powder with kabuki brush next to it just looks right on my dressing table. I’ve been using loose powder for a while now to set my makeup in the morning then carrying round pressed powder for touch ups.  I picked this up at Heathrow but you can also check out their website. You get 12g of product for £15.90.

The packaging is a nice, sturdy plastic jar complete with mirror, sifter and powder puff. Personally I don’t like using the puffs but if you do then it’s nice to have. As far as I know it only comes in one shade – transparent. This is a mixed blessing. It’s a pale flesh colour in the pot and does blend away on the back of my hand to nothing. This may be a good option for those of you who find the ELF HD powder looks ashy as it isn’t stark white. On my face though it does sometimes appear to oxidise slightly on my most oily days. It isn’t extreme tango face but it is a little bit annoying. For this reason I probably won’t wear this much over winter but I’ll be very happy to use it next spring/ summer. 

The powder is very soft and finely milled. It takes very little effort to buff it into the skin and does a fab  job of setting my foundation. I haven’t noticed any extreme oil controlling properties but I suppose it doesn’t promise any. As with most loose powders you need very little so it will last you a very long time.

I do like this but I don’t think I’ll repurchase when it eventually runs out simply because I’m so pale. I’m better off with one of those stark white powders that most complain about :p x

*I bought this myself*

Collection Overview – Powders

I touched on this subject in my ‘Product I’ve Hit Pan On’ where I confessed my pressed powder hoarding sins. I have an extremely oily nose (not t-zone, just nose) so setting my makeup with a powder is essential for me. I use loose powder in the morning and carry pressed powder around with me. I am aware that I have more than any normal human could possibly ever need but I would like to stress that I do rotate through them all so they are all getting used. Slowly but surely I will finish them!

Loose Powders:

Benefit Powderflage – This is supposed to be an under eye brightener. I don’t notice any brightening effects but it is essentially a silica powder which when used to set your under eye concealer prevents it from creasing and settling into fine lines. I have used the daily for a year yet it still looks full so although it is pricey (19.50) it will last a very long time).

Elf High Definition Powder – At £3.50 this is very budget friendly but the packaging makes me despise it. As a general rule loose powders are a bit messy but this has a similar effect to letting a crowd of toddlers loose in a flour factory(I think I mean mill...). White powder everywhere. I have a review coming up within the next week or so.

Estee Lauder Lucidity – I believe this has been discontinued. I would not recommend this for pale skin at all. It might claim to be translucent but it pulls quite orange. It isn’t brilliant at controlling oil either.

Rituals Finishing Touch - £16.50 so again not super cheap but I do like this one. It’s translucent without being ashy and gives a lovely soft matte finish.

NYC Smooth Skin - £2.99 and it’s my favourite! Does a great job of controlling oil. The only problem is the packaging is so damn cheap that it keeps cracking (hence the sellotape). All it does is sit in a drawer, it’s not like I’m throwing it about but still every time I look at it there is a new crack.

As I’ve already mentioned I went through the pressed powders in my recent video so I won’t repeat myself here. All I will say is that I have too many... ELF Studio Translucent Matte Powder, ELF Studio Complexion Perfection, 17 Shine Control, No7 Creme Touch, MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural, Rituals Gemstone Compact Powder.

*All bought by me.... the shame!*

Finished! October Edition

Over the last month or so I’ve gotten to the bottom of a whole load of products. So many they wouldn’t all fit in the one photo. Is it sad that it fills me with a real sense of pride? Even sadder is the fact that there is a little basket under my desk that I put finished items in till  I’ve taken a photo of them for this blog... and occasionally wave it under hubbies nose to say ‘look I do use all this stuff!’ Anyhoo...

Treseme: Heat Defence Spray: Love this. Leaves my hair super soft and really reduces frizz. I have already repurchased. In fact I believe this was one of the first reviews I ever did!

Garnier Night Cream: I did like this however there is a scent and I think it’s the perfume that stung a little if my skin was feeling particularly sensitive. Most days it was fine though. I won’t be repurchasing simply because I prefer the Simple night cream. 

Carmex: (original): Love this stuff. Have gone through hundreds of these little tubes and no doubt will go through hundreds more. Most of the flavours have SPF but the original doesn’t so this is the one I keep on my bedside table. 

Simple Eye Cream: It was nice and cooling to apply. Again this lacks SPF so because the eye cream that I used at night. I have a few others to try first but I’d be happy to buy this again in future. It probably wouldn’t cut it if you were looking for some heavy duty anti ageing but for my 23 year old skin it was fab. 

Smashbox Lash DNA in Burgundy: Loved the colour but hated the giant wand. Seriously it was bigger than my eyes... IT stank of play dough when I got it and progressively got smellier throughout its life. Needless to say I won’t be repurchasing. 

Blistex: Smells, tastes and feels foul but for severely cracked lips there is no better product. I hate it but I’ll never be without it. It sinks in quickly leaving your lips feeling so much better. This is usually the lip balm I have on my dressing table. I apply it first thing in the morning and by the time I go to apply my lipstick it has totally sunken in. Fab/ horrid. 

No7 Cleanse and Care Eye makeup remover:  Got this as a freebie thankfully. I really didn’t like this. It took loads to remove any makeup and I always still woke up with panda eyes the next day. Would not purchase personally. 

ELF Clarifying Pressed Powder: Honestly for £1.50 I wasn’t expecting greatness and I certainly didn’t get it. Mattified ok but quickly started to look cakey and unnatural. Euch. 

Lancôme Day Cream SPF15: Another gift with purchase. I expected this to be too heavy for my skin but I experienced zero breakouts or irritation. Whilst it is a little heavy for summer for me I may well repurchase during the winter. 

Rimmel Stay Matte Mouse (foundation of Dooooooom): Thankfully I dropped this (by accident I swear) and over half of it fell out. Their lightest shade is, on me, the colour of a Wotsit. I managed to use it up by mixing it with a lot of sunscreen to lighten it. I am not sorry to see the back of this!

L’Oréal Absolute Eye and Lip Makeup Remover: This was ok actually but I’ve used better, cheaper products since so I won’t be repurchasing. Everyday makeup wasn’t a problem but it really struggled with anything waterproof. 

Not a bad month really! X

*I bought the above products myself*

MAC MSF Natural

I’ve complained pretty much constantly about my shiny nose. As a result of the oil slick I find myself using blotting sheets and powder every few hours which means I’m always on the lookout for the next fab compact powder. So many people swear by the MSF naturals so I had to pick myself one up in the Duty Free recently (so this cost me around £15 instead of the usual £18 for 10g of product). I’ve been using this daily for a couple of weeks now and feel fairly confident in giving it a resounding ‘meh’. 

This is in the shade Light and it is very, very light. So the colour is a good match for me however they aren’t too pigmented so there is a little bit of wiggle room with the colours. Good points include the finely milled texture which has never once looked cakey on me and the rather nice looking domed design. 

This could be a good point or it could be a bad one depending on your opinion. The finish is very ‘natural’ in that it doesn’t completely mattify the skin. It tones down the shine but doesn’t remove it completely which leaves you with more of a ‘glow’ than most powders. If you are concerned that powders leave your skin looking flat and dry then this is definitely a good option. 

If however you are like me and really need a matte finish it isn’t quite so fab. It looks great and really natural for about an hour or so then it’s back to looking like someone poured olive oil down my face.  I think this is going to the back of the drawer until winter is properly upon us and my skin dries out a bit. One other little negative for me is the lack of a mirror in the compact. Come on MAC, you’re charging us enough for the thing at least give us a mirror!!! 

In conclusion if you have normal to dry skin I think this will be a better fit for you than it was for me. I’m going to keep searching. If you have any suggestions for a good mattifying compact powder please do let me know! X

*I bought this myself*

Benefit Powderflage

I hear rumours that this was being discontinued but It’s still on the Benefit website. I bought this a while ago at an outlet store for about £10 (it usually retails for £19.50 for 3.2g)and haven’t seen it in Boots recently so I’m unsure if it is still being made but it’s still very easy to find online. The Benefit website claims that this is

“light-diffusing powder concealer for under eyes & face”

Er... no? It is a pale, pinkish powder that goes on rather translucent. It provides pretty much zero coverage. The first ingredient listed is talc too so not exactly a premium product. It does however contain silica and here is where it starts to get interesting.

I am very long sighted and even with my glasses on frequently squint when I’m reading things. This + layers of concealer attempting to hide my under eye luggage = creasing. If I set my under eye concealer with a regular powder it gets cakey too which is not sexy. Someone suggested setting it with powderflage. They told me that the silica would stop it settling in the lines made when I’m squinting and do you know what? They were right. I now use this daily to set my concealer and I love it!


The little brush is worse than useless. It’s scratchy and horrible and went in the bin along with the rest of the excessively bulky packaging. I’s also found that the lid doesn’t screw on very well on mine. I’m not sure if they are all like this or if that’s the reason this one was at an outlet store but it’s loose enough that I could never travel with it.

At £10 I would happily/ will repurchase this. I wouldn’t pay full price though. Just because I’m cheap like that xx
*I bought this myself*

ELF Studio Translucent Matte Powder

I blot and powder frequently throughout the day because of my oily t-zone and of course this becomes even more of a problem in the summer. As a result I go through pressed powder like nothing else and I’m constantly on the lookout for the next best miracle powder that will keep me shine free for more than 5 minutes. 

This costs £3.50 from the ELF UK website. As usual the studio line packaging looks more expensive than it is in a sleek black case with good sized mirror. My one gripe is that half the compact is taken up by a sponge, which I don’t use, leaving space for just 3.4g of product. This is less than half what I would normally expect in a pressed powder so I don’t see it lasting very long but then again it is only £3.50.

It only comes in one shade, Translucent. This works fine on my skin whether I’m uber pale or fake tanned up although I have a hard time believing that it would go ashy on very dark skin. Do correct me if I’m wrong though. It tends to kick up a lot of powder when I go near it with my retractable kabuki. Whilst it isn’t the most finely milled powder in the world it does buff nicely into the skin leaving a matte but non cakey finish as long as you don’t use too much.

As for oil control it is one of the better pressed powders I currently have. I get a good 2 hours before I start looking shiny again which is pretty good going in this sweaty weather! For this reason I think it is a good buy and given the cheap price I would consider buying it again x

*Bought by me*

Face of the Day

I haven't posted a Face of the Day in a while, but I received so many compliments on my look today that I thought it was worth sharing, especially given how simple it was.

I used Bobbi Brown Champagne Quartz Metallic Shadow lash to brow, Rock and Republic Diffused Shadow in the crease and lined with Sephora Nano Liner in Glitter Brown. Cheeks were MAC Lilicent topped with the last dregs of the Chantecaille Lumiere de Rose Highligher I dropped and destroyed a few weeks ago and I wore Bobbi Brown Berry Shimmer (decidedly not berry colored) and MAC Gingerroot to line. Usual underpinnings of Jouer concealer, True Cosmetics mineral pressed powder, Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Linen and Korres black mascara.

Origins Brighter By Nature™ SPF 30 Skin Tone Correcting Makeup

I've always loved Origins Silk Screen Refining Powder Makeup. I had considered it a holy grail but switched to Bare Escentuals Matte a few months ago, mainly out of a combination of boredom and curiosity. I find myself shiny by mid-day with the BE and when I saw that Origins had a new powder foundation with SPF 30, I jumped.

This oil and talc-free powder is designed to absorb shine and gently illuminate with a small amount of mica. I only use powder on my t-zone to mattify and even out the skin a bit so I cannot attest to how it fares over cheeks, but so far I really like it. The included sponge provides medium to full coverage and the product doesn't look too chalky on the skin the way some powder foundations can. The shade selection is pretty good (though I wish there were neutral shades and not just cool and warm) and the price is right at $27.50.

Update on my Trip to Senna

I had to leave LA this morning to head to a four day company retreat where I unfortunately will be without email access! I'm taking the red-eye home on Sunday. For all of those who inquired about my blog sale, thank you SO much for your interest! The items have all been sold to a wonderful reader whom I hope really adores them!

After the not-so-hot experience I had at Senna Monday, I decided to give them another shot to see if anyone else could help me make the concealer and brush that I purchased work for me. It goes on cakey and very creamy, and I'm getting more of a smeared mess than flawless coverage. A different, very sweet person was working today and gave me some application tricks, and told me that this is the right concealer for me but that it really does need to be set with powder. I was torn between the new new Mineral Eye Lift Powder and the Secret Set Mineral Buffing Powder. The Mineral Eye Lift ($20) is an HD powder with a slight yellow tint that really brightens. I could see from just applying it on my hand how illuminating it is. The Secret Set ($26) is ultra-sheer and colorless.
I was very tempted by the newer one (I mean they actually call it a non-surgical eye lift!) but it really is a heavier powder and thus accentuates fine lines a bit more than the Secret Set. I'll take a less bright smooth undereye over an illuminated crepey one any day! I also purchased a brush with which to apply the powder, the 15 Feather ($20). Two things to note: The Secret Sets comes in a mini size (which the makeup artist did not tell me about--I would have gotten that size instead) and the website recommends the Baby Face Brush ($26) for setting concealer, not the brush I was sold which turns out to be an eye shadow tool. Go figure! Here is the Baby Face for comparison:

The makeup artist also tried the Barely Base Sheer Mineral Makeup SPF 20 on me in Fair ($36). I'm lucky to be blessed with nice skin and never wear foundation or tinted moisturizer (just a bit of sheer powder to absorb shine) so I was a bit hesitant, but I have to say I really like it! It's very sheer, has non-chemical SPF 20 and is oil and fragrance free. She gave me a sample to try for a few days I can always call back and order it. I would consider using this for flawless skin on special occasions. One tip she gave me was to use this under the eyes to provide just a bit of coverage before concealer since my circles are super dark.

Finally, the makeup artist recommended using a primer under my eyes in addition to eye cream and the tinted moisturizer to help concealer go on smoother and last longer. She recommended the Silky Primer ($38), but between moisturizer and sunscreen I'm not sure if I want to incorporate another layer into my routine. It's definitely on my "to think about" list though.

I'm very glad that I went back and gave the line another chance. The second makeup artist couldn't have been nicer and it was such a nice experience. Many of the eye shadows and lipsticks were beautiful and I wish I had even more time to play, but unfortunately I had to run. I did take a brochure and wrote some product names down for my wishlist. Please let me know if you have any favorites from the line!

Hopefully the hotel where I'm staying for my company retreat has a spa and I can explore the products for sale there!